| | Location: Home » Electronics » Other Products » Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger (SiRF III, Driverless, 128MB, Push to Log) (Windows and Mac Image Software included) | September 6, 2008 |
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| Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger (SiRF III, Driverless, 128MB, Push to Log) (Windows and Mac Image Software included) | 
 enlarge | Brand: Amod
Category: Single Detail Page Misc
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 191
MPN: AGL3080
Model: AGL3080
ASIN: B000WO6HJW
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| Features:
| • | SiRF III chipset for best sensitivity and low speed tracking | | • | Standard USB 2.0 interface which doubles as an USB Flash Disk | | • | Works with Windows, Mac, and Linux based computers | | • | Long operating time - 15 hours with 3 x AAA batteries | | • | Windows and Mac photo tagging software included |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Large data capacity - stores over 256,000 data records: AGL3080 Photo Tracker is a GPS-based data logger designed to provide location information for digital photos. Unlike other similar products, AGL3080 does not need driver to operate. When you plug AGL3080 into a computer via USB port, it will simply appears as an external drive. The recorded log is standard NMEA format which is compatible with many online tools such as JetPhoto, GPSVisualizer, etc.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
Great product, poor documentation September 5, 2008
The important part, GPS logging, is excellent. Seems to track fairly accurately; I don't have anything to compare it against, but from reviews on similar products, seems to have similar accuracy. It also has good reception. I was able to acquire and maintain a fix from inside my house and in the office.
Very simple to use. Collected data, plugged it into my Linux box, copied the log files off the presented flash drive. I then converted the logs from NMEA to GPX using gpsbabel, and correlated the locations to my photos in digikam.
The biggest pain was the firmware update. I downloaded the most recent (V2.2) firmware, and tried to update. First off, you have a choice of two downloads, one with static navigation enabled, the other without. No explanation as to which I might want. Some WEB searching, I found that for use when walking about, you probably want the one with it SN off.
Next, after unzipping the download, checked the README. It listed five files which should be included, and that the upgrade is performed by running 'fwupgrade.exe'. Well, there was no 'fwupgrade.exe', but there was a 'GoNoGo.exe'. Tried running GoNoGo on three differant WinXP boxes, and in each case it crashed. Next I tried the fwupgrade.exe from the V2.0 download, and it behaved the same. Finally, I upgraded to V2.0, powered on then off the unit, and then successfully upgraded to V2.2.
The newer firmware offers six logging modes. The documentation tells you approximately how many data points of each type, and the number of hours of samples will fit in the unit for each format, but again, no explanation as to which format you would want to use under what situations. I just chose the one with the most data types at five second intervals. That seems to work.
In summary, a recommended buy. I would suggest Amod work more on the documentation, and QA the update procedure better. I would prefer an upgrade procedure where I could just copy the new firmware onto the flash, and have it internally reflash, rather than fussing with their flaky Windows app.
Works Well; Could Have Better Reception August 3, 2008
This cell-phone sized GPS logger does exactly what it claims to do. It comes with a convenient velcro strap and hook so it can be attached to your camera bag; I prefer to use a carabiner since the plastic hook seems cheap.
The AGL3080's interface is mind blowingly simple: blinking green lights are good. Solid lights are bad. You just power the thing on and wait for the satellite reception indicator to blink green and you know it's good to go. With that said, this device could be quicker at picking up a signal. It's taken me upwards to five minutes for it to resolve when there's cloud cover or I'm indoors. This isn't killer, but I do wish it was quicker.
Once you've collected some data, it's simple to use software like Houdah Geo to tag your photos. The AGL3080 just plugs into your computer's USB port and mounts as an external drive. Very easy to use and there's no proprietary interface concealing your data. It works perfectly with my Macbook and Rebel XTi.
 New tracking modes allow much longer tracks June 24, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
As reported in January by Paul Dulaney, the error in the device that caused it to report inaccurate latitude and longitude has been fixed. I find that the positions it records are very accurate.
In addition, while the device still has 128MB of flash memory, it now has six user-selectable tracking modes. The differences between modes have to do with the amount of information recorded (types of NMEA 0183 records), the frequency of position recordings, or both.
The original device recorded a position every second, and would completely fill the memory in 72 hours. Now you can choose between recording every second, every 5 seconds, or every 10 seconds. You can choose to record 5 different types of records, or just "RMC" records; these contain date, time, latitude, and longitude, which is enough for attaching locations to photos. RMC records also contain speed and direction of travel, but not altitude. Altitude is in "GGA" records, which also contain latitude, longitude, and time, but not date. (Who designed this stuff, anyway?)
Recording only RMC records every second, the device can now hold a track that lasts 288 hours. As you might expect, recording every 5 seconds yields 1440 hours, and every 10 seconds yields 2880 hours. Recording more record types takes more space, but recording everything record type it knows about every 10 seconds can be done for 720 hours.
The device remembers the last mode you set, and uses it the next time it powers up. You can just set it and forget it.
I found the recorded altitudes to be very inaccurate -- it claims a difference of 30 meters altitude between the front and back of my yard, while a difference of 1.5 meters is more like it. I understand that GPS devices generally don't do well with altitudes. This is a shame, because a true "geotag" should have three coordinates, to fix a point in 3-space.
I particularly like that fact that the device attaches to a computer as a plain vanilla flash memory drive, a "removable disk". This means that there is no dependency on device drivers or other proprietary software: you just copy the log files from the device to the computer, and do what you want with them. Based on the horror stories in reviews of other GPS loggers' software and drivers, this is a very good thing.
I have not tried the software that comes on the CD. AMOD provides two programs, but one of them is Windows only and thus unusable on my Macintosh. (I haven't needed to run Windows programs yet on my Mac, and I see no need to start now just for this GPS logger.) I wrote a rather simple Python script that matches the times on photos with entries in the GPS log files and updates the photos' GPS data using a free program called ExifTool.
To sum up, the AGL3080 does just what I wanted. It has a very simple user interface: about all you have to do is turn it on and make sure it has fresh batteries. It's easy to read and process the GPS logs that it records. I recommend the device.
Awesome Gadget for the Price! June 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When I was shopping for a GPS data logger, I knew that it had to be Mac compatible. This gadget has an excellent design; it's just like a USB flash drive. No drivers, no fuss. It's great because it's so simple. I can't believe this was only $70! The new version lets you have control over the frequency of the logging; now you can store more than 2000 hours of GPS data if you want. The only 2 complaints I have are that it isn't the most accurate GPS device (but definitely good enough) and it takes awhile to lock its position with satellites (takes like 5-10 minutes, which is pretty bad - however, once the green light starts blinking, it works fine). I highly recommend this device, especially to Mac users who want to make sure to get a compatible GPS data logger.
Quite impressive March 2, 2008
29 out of 29 found this review helpful
I just purchased this device, and was a little worried based on all of the problems other users have reported (but AMOD and Semsons have both said are fixed in the currently shipping devices). It takes a little while to get a cold-start GPS fix (about 45 seconds) and it takes a very long time if you're moving while it's trying to get a fix (just like any GPS device will), so it's best to turn it on about 10-15 minutes before you're heading outside and put it on a window sill or outside so it can figure out where it is and sync up. I carried my Garmin Vista HCx along to check for accuracy. I drove around for a few miles, and headed home. I plugged the AGL3080 into my Mac, and it showed up as an external drive with a file named "GPS_20080301_200336.log". Taking a peek at the file, it's standard NMEA log format. I ran gpsbabel on it using the following command " 1041 gpsbabel -i nmea -f ~/Desktop/GPS_20080301_200336.log -x discard,hdop=10,vdop=10,hdopandvdop,sat=4 -o gpx -F ~/Desktop/out.gpx". This gets rid of any inaccurate logs (no GPS receiver does well with less than 4 satellites in view), just to clean up the log. I have to do this with the GPS files from the Garmin as well, for what it's worth. I used GPSPhotoLinker (mac) to open the log and the three dozen pictures I took with my camera phone (I didn't bother to take my real camera for this test). After looking at the results using Preview (if you click "Info" you can see the picture on Google Maps), and noticed everything was off. After going through the pictures, I realized they were all a few seconds behind. Sure enough, I compared the GPS clock from my Garmin with the clock on my phone, and AT&T was sending me time that's about 40 seconds off. GPSPhotoLinker lets you adjust the offset, so I fixed it there, and re-ran the batch. It was dead on. Seriously dead on. To the foot. Keep in mind the AGL3080 was hanging from my belt loop on my jeans, while I'm sitting in a Jeep Wrangler with steel doors -- so it can't see the sky very easily. I did the same process with the GPX tracks from the Garmin, and the AGL3080 actually turned out to be more accurate than the Garmin. I pulled the tracks into Google Earth (gpsbabel again, using -o kml), and it was dead on the roads. Perfect. Get some 1000mA rechargeable duracell batteries, and you'll get about 20 hours of data (up from the 15 they say you'll get with alkalines). There are a few cons: the thing is bigger than I expected. It's also kind of heavy. But even on the provided strap, you don't notice it hanging on you. I'm planning on buying a small cellphone holster for it to secure it to my belt (the blinking satellite LED caught the attention of some kids, and a holster will hide it) -- because I can definitely see myself destroying it if I leave it hanging 4" below my belt -- I've already sat on it twice. Another con is it has a very shiny front -- it looks great, but I guarantee it will get completely scratched up and scuffed. But who cares -- no one is looking at it. All in all: highly recommended.
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